Persistence of a Mountain Racer
by ColeIketani
Summary: Jin and his group of friends are the mountain team known as Alpha Redline, but are they good enough to take down rival teams that are challenging their mountain? (Reviews would be lovely) (Where is the love people)
1. The New Arrivals

Persistence of a Mountain Racer

Stage One: The New Arrivals

Disclaimer: This is my first fic and I decided that I would just write one after reading so many. . Any names or titles I use are not mine and I am not making any money from this. (I know there is a more official way to say that, but I don't wanna :P) Plus any of the places that I have labeled are made up, except for Tokyo and other actual locations. SO DON'T GET A MAP TO LOOK THEM UP!! Ok enough ranting, time for a story

Stage One: The New Arrivals

Rain… I hate the rain.

The water speckles down onto the windows of the Tanaka household. The "tink-tink" of the raindrops made a certain type of music that only people who are in tune with the elements and saw the beauty of nature could enjoy. Jin was not one of those people…

"Will it ever stop raining?!" Jin Tanaka squealed as he walks out of his room. Storming past his roommate's room, Jin walked down the stairs into the kitchen. His feet made a deep thunking noise as he walked, which was sure to wake someone up, but he didn't seem to notice. If he did, he didn't seem to care. Jin looked outside at the darkness as it continued to pour outside. It didn't look like it was ever going to stop. More importantly, his car was outside and he really hated for it to get rained on.

"Still looking at the rain?" a voice came from behind him. Jin turned around to see that it was his roommate, Taihosi Shinamora, of course with a tuning magazine under his arm. "You know, all that walking around you do makes it seem like there is a thunderstorm outside" Taihosi said as he snuck a small smile up on his face. "What ya making? Whatever it is I want some too. Damn I hate this rain" the young man said as he sat down at the counter that was in the middle of the small kitchen

Jin couldn't help but smile when Taihosi entered the room. The guy just started to talk and move around as if he was independent of everyone else, but at the same time he wanted everyone to be serving him so he didn't have to do anything at all. Jin and Taihosi had been friends since the two of them were in high-school, so Jin was used to it, but it still made him laugh. "I was going to make a sandwich and get some milk to go with it." Jin said as he set out one plate on the counter and started heading for the fridge to get some of the components of his sandwich. In the background, Jin could hear Taihosi say, "Where is my plate? I want some. Hey, Jin make me a sandwich too. Oh come on Jin, please!!!"

Jin let out a laugh as he reached into the fridge and grabbed some deli meats and bread, while Taihosi was shaking his head from side to side, his mop-top hair flinging around as if to flag Jin down from making his sandwich. "Fine, be an ass. Don't make be a sandwich. Be the worst friend in the world. Yep, this friendship is over." Taihosi said as he swung his magazine at Jin, missing by a lot, but still laughing nonetheless at his attempt. Jin started laughing too as he laid out two sets of bread.

"Looks like this weather kills our chance to going out on the mountain tonight doesn't it?" Jin said trying to change the subject back from the sandwiches to the weather. "I really wanted to get out there and carve up some corners tonight." Jin said as the "tink tink" of the rain started to get louder and just make Jin even more disappointed. Ever since Jin had moved to the Tirogara district, he had hoped to make a name for himself in the street racing community. Back where he used to live in Tokyo area, Jin would sit on the guardrails and watch as the racers would scream down the passes, he wished he could be just like that when he got older. From Toyota Altezza's to Mazda's famous rotaries, Jin started learning about them all, engines to exterior and as soon as he graduated high-school and started college at Harutan University, he got a license and started working toward a car. He did everything he could think of to earn enough money for a ride of his own, and when he had, he started to tune it slowly…but surely… That had been two years ago, but to Jin it still felt like he was taking his first baby steps.

"Jin, SANDWICH NOW!!!" Taihosi yelled, snapping him out of his daydreaming. Chuckling Taihosi smiled as Jin looked outside at the rain once more before starting to make his first sandwich. "Well the mountain will be there tomorrow. You do know that. So just make me my sandwich and shut the hell up…" his old friend said as the two of them just laughed.

The next morning, the two awoke to see that the sunlight was streaming into the kitchen. Jin let out a loud yawn as he stretched on the floor. He started to close his eyes again when a sultry voice jarred him awake. "Hey, you alive down there?" Jin bolted up, only to knock his head into a corner of the counter. "Damn it!" Jin yelled as he rubbed his head. "Watch your language!" the voice said to Jin. Looking up, he saw it was Rina Iwakya, his girlfriend, standing over him with a smile on her face. "Plus you left your car into the rain again. Nice move there." Jin smirked as he pulled on her jean pant leg, clinging to her as he slowly stood up, with one hand around her waist, giving her a hug as they both looked at Taihosi.

Taihosi who had been asleep on the counter sat up muttering, "I didn't put the meat into the photo copier Mommy!" before he went back to sleep. Both Jin and Rina laughed as they looked at each other and started laughing against, Jin tickling her sides. "How long have you been in here?" Jin said as he let her go and walked over to the window looking outside. Rina's SW20 was parked closest to the window, its yellow paint causing Jin to squint his eyes at its obnoxious brightness. "Just long enough to watch Tai Tai shout out the theme song to Ultraman six times in his sleep." Rina laughed a bit as she walked over to Jin who still was looking out the window, putting her arms around his waist and looking with him. "You know he hates you calling him that." Jin said as he looked over to Taihosi's car. His black Nissan S-14 sat next to Rina's MR2, its flared body kit reminding Jin of his excitable friend. Jin smirked at his friend's cars before he looked at his own car.

His beloved ride, a red Mazda FC3S, sat farthest in. Jin couldn't help but smile as he gazed at it longingly. He had driven this FC day and night for almost two years, he felt as if the rotary was a part of him. Jin closed his eyes and pretended he could hear its 13B engine revving at 7000 rpm as Jin screamed down in the mountain passes in his mind.

Jin was snapped back into reality again when Rina rubbed back against him, speaking into his ear. "So Jin, do you have any plans after class?" Rina said as he slid her hand into his. "Well Taihosi and I were going to run the mountain a few times after our classes were over." Jin said as he turned around to face her. "Well you know that I'm coming too. We're a team so if you run, we're all going to run." Rina said to him with a serious look on her face before smiling at Jin. Jin smiled at her face. "You make it sound like we're a team of a hundred instead of a team of three" Jin said as he looked out again at the cars. The sunlight glistened off the three cars in the driveway, as if to add a halo over the team decals that were placed at similar places.

The "Alpha Redline" decal flashed a bit at Jin as he smirked at the design. The three of them had been a team for officially six months, yet they had just found a home course to call their own. They had been scouting the area ever since the team was formed; challenging teams on their own courses, but had not found their own course until two weeks ago. Mount Ikaoia was its name. It was quite a drive from the Tirogara area, but at least it was theirs. It was full of drops and dips and sharp hairpins, as well as long straight-aways and high-speed corners, but none of them seem to come at any certain rhythm, at least nothing that Alpha Redline was able to master yet. For example, a high speed straightaway would lead into a sharp ball dropping hairpin and then into a tunnel which let into another hairpin. It wasn't the ideal course for the new team, but for those last two weeks, the team drove out to the mountain and made continuous runs to try and get a feel for the course. Nothing was coming just yet. Jin was the farthest along, with the fastest time that was recorded, but it wasn't fast enough. At least not to Jin, who had been turning down challenges for the past two weeks hoping that they would get a feel for the course by then. He couldn't keep doing that for long though, not if they wanted to say competitive.

"Well how about we meet you there after classes at 9pm?" Jin said to Rina as she let go of him. "Sounds like a plan. I'll see you there" Rina said as she gave him peck on the lips before she turned around walking out of the kitchen, shaking her ass a bit as she walked out to her SW-20. Jin looked out the window as he watched her walk to her car, blowing her a kiss before looking back at the clock, the deep rumble of the SW-20 idling in the background. "Oh shit! I'm late for class!" Jin said as he smacked Taihosi on the head, running up to his room to pick up his gear for class.

A few hours later, Jin and Taihosi were waiting for Rina to arrive. Jin's FC idled in the parking lot at the top of Mount Ikaoia. A sharp wind blew through the area causing Jin to pull his jacket up over his neck as he waited. It was only 8:48 pm, so Rina still had a few more minutes to arrive, but Taihosi wanted to make some runs now. "Come on Jin, let's go already!!! We could get at least two runs in before Rina got here. That way we could be warmed up before she arrived!!! Come on Jin!!!" Taihosi said at Jin, sitting in his black S-14, his headlights lighting up the area as the young driver sat in his car with the AC on warm. "No man, I said I would meet her up here and that's what I'm going to do" Jin said as he looked down the road waiting for Rina to arrive.

"Oh come on man, let's just go…" Taihosi started to say before he was interrupted by the revving a car engine heading up the hill. "Finally, took her ass long enough." Jin smiled as he heard the engine revving up the hill, but started to look concerned as he heard another engine, and then another and another. Suddenly a pair of headlights came over the top of the mountain, followed by another one and another. Twelve cars drove up to the parking lot, revving a bit as they started to pull into the lot across from Jin's FC and Taihosi's S-14.

Suddenly the driver of a black S-13 and the driver of a white DC2 stepped out facing Jin and Taihosi. The driver of the S-13 was a slender man, kind of like Jin with blond hair, but it looked dyed. The driver of the DC2 was a woman. Very attractive, with short red hair and a very nice figure. Both of them walked from their cars, which were still idling and walked over to the two men. The other drivers just stayed in their cars looking at the whole situation most of them just smiling or nodding. Taihosi got out of his S-14 and looked at the drivers and folded his arms. "What can we do for you?" he asked as the man of the S-13 walked up to Jin. "Are you Team Alpha Redline?" the man asked Jin. Before Jin could respond, the woman walked up and said. "We're the Firestorm Flash Team based out of Kinana, and we're calling you to a battle!!!"

Jin shook his head a bit as he looked at the two drivers. He hadn't even heard of the Firestorm Flash team, but he knew that his team wasn't ready for a battle here not yet. "No dice… at least not yet" Jin said folding his arms looking at the man of the S-13. The man nodded back and was about to speak when the woman spoke up again. "Oh I understand. You're too weak to put up a decent fight…" Jin was about to explain the situation when Taihosi interjected. "Too weak? We'd wipe the streets with ya!" Jin looked over at his friend. "Tai, don't do it…" Taihosi looked back at him. "No, Jin. I'm sick of turning down challenges. We can beat these jokers!" he said as he swung his arms up into the air before looking at the woman. "We accept, Saturday 11pm!!!" Taihosi said rashfully. Jin balled his fists a bit looking at Taihosi and then the woman, hoping that she would understand that Taihosi was stressed and wouldn't accept his challenge. The women smiled at him and nodded. "11 it is. We'll be glad to hand you your asses!" She and the other man walked back to their cars and revved high before the group of drivers headed down the hill.

Taihosi smiled at Jin before noticing the scowl on his face. "Are you crazy? We're not ready for a battle here! And it's only Wednesday you idiot! How are we going to be ready in four days?!!!" Jin yelled at Taihosi, not noticing that Rina had pulled up in her SW20 and was running up to them. "What's going on? What's this about a battle? Who were those guys? Some one tell me something!!" Rina said looking at Jin.

Jin let out a sigh before smiling at Rina and Taihosi, and turning around, looking at his FC which had been idling the entire time. "Looks like we have some training to do…" Jin said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a stopwatch. "Let's go…"

ColeIketani: Ok this is the first chapter of my first fic! Please tell me what you think! You can send me mail or IM me or whatever you want! :P Next chapter coming soon!


	2. What is Firestorm Flash?

Stage Two: What is Firestorm Flash?

Jin slid his foot smoothly against the throttle, pitching his FC sideways as it exited the corner with a nice high-speed drift. The whine of the rotary engine was filling the cockpit as Jin handled the car with exceptional control through the next straightaway. This was his fourth run of the night, but he still didn't think it was fast enough. Just hours earlier, Taihosi foolishly accepted a challenge from Team Firestorm Flash, now Jin's team was racing against the clock to perfect their skills on Mount Ikaoia's downhill. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Jin lightly tapped the brakes, and with some smooth heel and toe, downshifted to second, punching the throttle again as the FC started to slide through corner twenty-three with a nice power over drift…

Remember Jin, the key in driving a rotary, in fact the key in driving any street racing car is not the power that the car puts out, but the balance and harmony between the car and the driver Jin thought back to the words of his mentor, Ken Tajahachi, former street racer and the owner of a small repair shop that Alpha Redline brought their cars to be serviced. Ken was an older man, but his reflexes were still faster than anyone that Jin had ever known. I keep telling you kids, you need to watch the balance. That's how you find your rhythm. Run the course in your mind… Ken's words echoed in Jin's head as he brought the FC to a stop at the bottom of the hill.

Looking at the stopwatch that he had around his neck, Jin looked at his time. Seven minutes and three seconds. Not bad, but not nearly fast enough to be competitive. Whipping out his cell phone, Jin called Rina at the top of the hill and informed her of his time. He could hear her cheering that Jin beat his old time by about three seconds, but Jin still told her that he needed much improvement. "Still not fast enough…" Jin said to himself as he leaned back in the racing seat that he installed in the FC. The rotary engine idled nicely as Jin thought about his last downhill performance. In the glove box, Jin had a notebook and a pen which he recorded all the notes from when he was racing. He noted the corners that had caused him the most trouble and what he had tried to do to correct the mistake. After taking all of his notes and comparing them to his other runs, Jin put the small notebook back in the glove box and revved the engine nice and high before putting the car back into gear and heading back to the top of the mountain.

Minutes later, Jin arrived back at the top of the mountain, just to see that Taihosi's S-14 was racing down past him. He could hear the blow off valve whistling from the powerful SR20DET engine as his friend raced down the hill. As he pulled his car over to the side of the road, Rina ran over to his car and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Well? How was it?" Rina asked about this last run. "It felt nice, but still not the way I want it to feel." Jin said as he snuck another kiss on Rina's cheek, before cutting the engine of the FC and getting out, heading over to Rina's SW20. The bright yellow looked a little dimmer as there wasn't much light on the car at the time, but it was still damn bright as the two walked up to her car and looked it. Both of them slid into the cockpit sat in their seating and started to talk. "Jin, do you think we'll be ready for the battle meeting on Saturday?" Rina asked for what felt like the hundredth time that night. "I don't know baby. I hope so, but I'm not really sure. I'm going to go into town tomorrow and see what I find out about Firestorm Flash. Hopefully they aren't as badass as they looked" Jin said as he leaned back in his seating waiting for Taihosi to report back.

The next day, Jin drove his car into Ken's shop. The shop was called simply "Ken's" and no one seemed to complain about it. Jin parked his car into a space by the garage and got out, walking over to the garage. Jin could see someone working a blue Impreza 2.5 RS, the person's legs sticking out from underneath the car, singing a song that Jin didn't know. "Hey Kenny!!!" Jin said shouting in through the engine bay. Jin heard a loud thump and a bang as the person underneath swore and came out from underneath the Subaru. "Jin, what did I tell you about screaming when I'm working?!" Ken smiled shouting jokingly at him as he tossed Jin a small towel. "Here, give me a hand with this coilover setup." Ken said as he nodded. Jin smiled as he knew enough about these to help Ken install them. As the two of them continued to work, Jin looked over to Ken. "Ken, do you know anything about a team Firestorm Flash?" "Ken looked over at Jin and shook his head. "Nope, never heard about em. Stupid sounding name for a team in my opinion though." Ken said as he went back to work on the Subaru. Jin frowned a bit as he continued to work on the car as well.

Suddenly Jin felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked up to see a young man about Jin's age squatting next to him. "Did you ask about Firestorm Flash?" the young man asked Jin. Jin nodded in agreement. "Yes I did. Who are you?" The young man pointed at the Impreza that Jin was working on. "Name's Kenji Suidon. You're working on my car." Jin smiled and shook Kenji's hand before he continued working. "So what do you know about Firestorm Flash?" Jin asked.

Kenji let out a small sigh. "The team was formed about a year ago. They are from the Kinana area and they are serious players. The leader of the team is Akira Firouma. He drives a black S-13 and is said to be one of the fastest in the area. Although not many people have seen him run, they say that his skills are on par with the White Comet of Akagi in Gunma or the leader of Team Emperor on Irohazaka." Jin swallowed a lump in his throat as he listened. That man Jin met on top of Mount Ikaoia yesterday night must have been him. He didn't say much though. Jin asked about the woman who drove the white DC2 and was told that her name was Kira Fujiwaka and she was equally as fast. Kenji also told Jin that his own team the Blackfoxes had been slaughtered by them only three weeks ago and that's how he knew all of this information.

Jin finished putting the tire back on the Impreza as he stood up and looked at Kenji. "Well if these guys are as serious as you say, we're going to have quite the battle on our hands this weekend…" Kenji's eyes widened a bit as he looked at him. "Are you serious? You're taking on team Firestorm Flash?!!! Oh I'm so going to be there!" Kenji said as Jin gave him the information on the battle. He was surprised that he was so interested in a team that had spanked his but misery does love company…

ColeIketani: Yeah, I know the chapter is short, but more are coming!!! 


	3. Come on Jin, show your stuff!

Chapter Three: Come on Jin, show your stuff!!!

On the top of Mount Ikaoia, the scream of the rotary could be heard as Jin pitched his FC3S into a drift as he entered another corner. The scream of the engine could only be drowned out by the screaming in Jin's mind telling him to go faster, push harder, to shave off seconds anyway he could. His team only had three days left until the battle with Firestorm Flash and he didn't feel any faster than when he started training. "Damn…what am I doing wrong?!!!" Jin yelled in his cockpit as the screeching of the rear tires could be heard as the car exited the corner. Jin almost slammed on the accelerator as he shifted up into third gear, then forth just before the next corner. Jin quickly started braking before a smooth heel-toe downshift that brought him through the turn. The rhythm of the course was starting to form in Jin's mind…

His thought process was interrupted by a flash of light hitting Jin in the eyes. The rotary driver squinted his eyes a bit as he noticed the flash of eye was coming from his rear-view mirror. Looking into the mirror, Jin saw headlights of another car coming up on him. "He's coming up fast…almost too fast…" Jin said quietly to himself as he leaned on the accelerator, the FC picking up speed just before it entered the corner. The upcoming corner was a long high-speed sweeper turn suddenly turned into a sharp hairpin that broke to the right. Jin shifted down to second starting his drift early, his pursuer doing the same as the driver followed close behind. Jin was able to look out his driver side window as the two cars started drifting. The young driver gripped the steering wheel hard as he looked back to see that a black Nissan S13 was the cause of this little chase. Jin could only think of one person that could be the driver of a black S-13 on this course. "No…it can't be…" Jin thought as the two cars continued to drift toward the upcoming hairpin. Jin quickly looked back to the road, seeing that he was almost running out of it. "Ahhh!!...!" In all of Jin's speculation, the hairpin coming up had almost caught him by surprise. Jin quickly turned the wheel to the right and with some quick counter-steering was able to pull the car around to a somewhat decent drift, but it was enough to make the corner. The S-13 behind him smoothly came through the corner and stayed right on Jin's tail as the two cars barreled down the mountain pass.

"It's gotta be him…" Jin said as he raced his FC down the straight-away. "Akira Firouma… leader of team Firestorm Flash… What is he doing on my course?" Jin said in almost arrogant defiance as the two cars started braking for the corner ahead. During the braking and where Jin started his entry into the corner, the black S-13 started to close the gap between the two cars, starting to come up on Jin's right rear side. "You won't embarrass me on my own mountain!!!" Jin roared as the young driver stomped on the accelerator, the rotary engine roaring up to 7000 rpm as the FC screamed down the pass. Jin tightly gripped the steering wheel as the two racers flew down the mountain pass. As they entered a tunnel, the black S-13 started to come up on Jin again. The lights from the tunnel waved over the two cars in flashes of red and black. Jin peered over to see that it was the man who led Firestorm Flash. "I knew it!" Jin said as Akira looked back over to Jin before tapping his brakes and sliding in behind the young racer tailing him again.

At the top of the mountain, Rina and Taihosi leaned up against the SW-20 as the waited to hear from Jin. They were both worried. They seen the S-13 barrel past the parking lot starting its downhill run moving at an almost unholy speed just minutes ago, but Jin had already started his run so they didn't want to distract him by calling him on his cell phone. "Do you think the S-13 caught up with Jin?" Taihosi asked Rina who was looking down the street with a look of tense anxiety on her face. She loved Jin, and didn't want to hear that anything bad had happened to him. "Come on Jin…" she said quietly, barely audible. She wanted him to be a great racer and make a fast time, but when the S-13 passed her, those thoughts left her and she just wanted him to make it down to the bottom safely…

"Damn it, he's still on my ass!!!" Jin screamed to himself as he shifted down to third as he exited another corner. The FC wobbled a bit as slight understeer was apparent. The tires screeched louder and louder, heating up as the car raced down the hill. Akira's S-13 however, seemed not to have any of the same mishaps that Jin was having. His cornering was smooth, his exit speed was fast and he stayed right on Jin's tail. "He's toying with me, copying me as we go. That bastard!!! He's not even trying at all!!!" Jin said as he looked in his rear view. Jin laid on the accelerator as the powered his car down the straight as fast as he could, panicking a bit as the S-13 stayed on his tail The taillights of the FC lit up again as Jin started breaking hard entering the corner. Jin's tires screeched and wailed as this time Jin was going way to fast to take the corner properly as he started to understeer going into the corner. Jin fought with the wheel as the car started to slide toward the guardrail that was separating the young racer from the hereafter. The FC's tires screamed in agony as Jin pulled over on the wheel, the FC sliding through the corner, missing the guardrail by less than a few inches. Akira put his foot into the gas and smoothly passed the red FC and continued to go down the straightaway. Looking up Jin saw to his horror the taillights of the S-13 in front of him, the black car slowly pulling away from him as they continued down the hill. "Damn it!!!" Jin said slamming on the steering wheel. Not only had Akira passed him, he had seen Jin's fastest run…and it wasn't good enough.

Jin's shoulders sagged as the S-13 continued to pull farther and farther ahead, its taillights taunting him as they rounded corner after corner till Jin could no longer see them. Feeling his eyes watering a bit, Jin slowly applied the brakes, slowing down to a more manageable speed as he continued the downhill. Moments later, as Jin started to pull up to the rest stop at the bottom of the hill, he saw flashing amber lights coming from a car sitting at the bottom of the downhill. Looking through his tears, Jin saw that it was Akira, standing outside of his S-13 looking up the road at Jin, as if to see the young racer's fear. Wiping the tears from his eyes as best he could, Jin turned on his warning lights and pulled in behind Akira. As he got out of his car, the older driver walked up to Jin and put a hand of the hood of the FC. "You call that racing?" Akira said quietly to Jin looking down at the FC's vented hood. "Your FC is a great machine. It shouldn't be wasted on a novice like you…" the experienced driver said as he looked up at Jin with a slight glare. "You waste my time…" Akira walked back to his S-13, peeling off leaving Jin starting a cloud of exhaust.

Jin had his fists clenched as he looked as the S-13 screaming up the street. How dare he call him a waste! But what could he say in response? He lost too the better driver. Jin felt to his knees and started to slightly weep again, tearing spattering in front of the FC. Suddenly Jin looked up with a livid expression. "TO HELL WITH YOU AKIRA!!!" Jin shouted down the road as if he could hear him. Jin screamed once more down the road before he turned back to his FC which was still idling. "I don't know how Akira Firouma...but three days from now… I am going to defeat you…" Jin said as he slid in behind the wheel of the FC pulling away from the rest area, heading back into the city.

The next day, Rina and Taihosi heard about Jin's encounter with Akira. The three of them were sitting in Ken's tuning shop while Jin was reading tuning articles about suspension tuning and proper tire management concerning his FC. New springs, new tires, something that might give him the edge in battle. Looking back on the battle last night, Jin understood that Akira passed him because Jin pushed his tires to hard making them unable to grip the road properly, hence the constant understeer. Jin continued to read through pages. "There must be something!" Jin said while he flipped through the pages. "But Jin, what makes you think you can pull something out in two days?" Taihosi asked as he looked at some magazines for himself. Looking up, Jin met his eyes with the eyes of his friend. "I've got too Taihosi. I've just got too, for the sake of the team. And for myself…" Jin trailed off as he continued reading.

Rina looked at Jin with a concerned look on her face. Ever since the battle the night before, Jin was looking more tense, more distressed. The urge to win was wearing on him and Rina could see it much more clearly than anyone else. Jin now was racing with defiance and he couldn't be in that state if he was going to clearly take a victory from Akira and the Firestorm Flash Team.

Rina was about to say something when Ken came into the room and snatched the magazine away from Jin. "Hey that's…!" Jin started to say before he was smacked on the head with the magazine. "You idiot, a poor workman blames his tools! Do you want to be like that?!" Ken said looking at Jin who a little confused at the emotional state of his old mentor. "What are you talking about Ken?" Jin said as Ken reached over toward Jin. Jin flinched again, thinking he was going to be hit with the magazine, only to hear the clinking of the keys to his FC that had been resting on the counter being taken up in Ken's hand. "Come on!!! Outside!!!" Ken said almost storming outside.

Jin looked at his friends with a puzzled look on his face as he headed out to his car to see that Ken was sitting in the driver's seat and the engine was running. Ken lowered the window and looked at Jin with more of a friendly smile. "Come on, get it ya stupid!"

Jin scrambled over to the passenger side of the FC and climbed in as Ken revved high and spun the tires screaming away from his shop. Rina and Taihosi ran out front and looked at each other. Who was going to run the shop?

End of Chapter 3. Yeah I know it's short again, but you have to wait to get genius!


	4. A Lesson Learned

Chapter 4: A lesson learned…

Jin looked over to Ken as he drove the FC out of the parking lot of Ken's shop and up the street. "Where are we going Ken?" Jin asked puzzled about the intention of his old friend and mentor. Ken said nothing as he leaned on the accelerator a bit more, the FC's engine whining a bit as Ken looked squarely ahead at the road, turning on the expressway before really opening the car up to some speed. Jin gulped a bit as his car raced on the freeway, Ken expertly evading two cars before getting into an open lane. The rotary was running fine, Ken could see that as he leaned on the accelerator some more, opening the car up a bit as they continued up the freeway.

Moments later, the two arrived pulled into a large parking lot. The lot was home to Abetu Circuit, one of the new racing centers in the area. As the two got out of the FC3S, Ken rested his hands on the FC's warm hood. "Well I've driven the FC and the issue doesn't seem to be a tuning problem. The car was running well as we came up the expressway. Didn't see any issue that needed addressing…" Jin's eyes widened a bit as Ken continued talking about the FC. The man had been analyzing the entire time as they had driven up the expressway… Jin's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Ken, his finger pointed at Jin's chest. "Now Jin what you fail to understand is that you already have the skills in here…" Ken stopped himself as he pointed up to Jin's head. "What's messing you up is in here. You doubt yourself. A racer shouldn't do that when he's in a battle, he should know when his tactics are working and when his opponent is using tactics on him." Ken stopped for a moment to let those words sink into Jin's head, the young racing looking at the FC as she idled quietly, but smoothly. " I bet you were freaking out when that punk Akira was tailing you down the mountain last night." Ken said interrupting Jin from his thought process. "What you need to learn is how to put up with that kind of from behind pressure. Otherwise your opponents will ride your tail till you break and then pull quickly ahead before you can recover and try to do the same thing to them."

Jin thought back to the battle from the night before. As Akira and Jin had been racing down the pass, Jin had felt more and more fenced in. He kept thinking that his fastest wasn't enough. Once Akira passed him, he just wasn't in the right state of mind to try and get the lead back. And Ken knew that… "So what do I do then?" Jin asked Ken with a concerned look on his face. Ken looked over to Jin before getting back into the FC. "Come on get in…" Jin quickly scrambled into his car as Ken drove the FC through an automotive entrance and onto the pit road, where many of the cars would get repaired during an actual race. Now the lane was empty, all but one white Nissan Silvia S-14, which was sitting in the middle of the row. Jin looked over at the S-14 as Ken pulled up to it, seeing a "Kei Office" emblem emblazoned on the side. Ken got out of the FC and walked over to the other car, opening the door and pulling out two racing helmets. One for himself and one for Jin to wear. "Get your car onto the track, Jin. It's time for you to do some training on the track. Let me chase behind you and maybe I can find out how to fix this handy cap of yours." Ken said as Jin nodded, donning the racing helmet and pulling the FC onto the track.

"Jin, you're exit speed coming out of the corner is too low. I'm still right on your tail as we come out together!" Ken shouted over the PA that connected himself to Jin's car. "You've got the shift the weight more so that your car slides in with more inertia so you can use some of that reserve power to exit out of the corner." Ken gripped the wheel of the Kei Office S14 as he chased Jin around the track. The two had been going for about half an hour, Ken monitoring Jin's movements and giving him pointers. The crimson FC3S racing around another right corner. Ken smiled as Jin started to pull away a bit, through the next row of corners that were coming up. He saw the talent in the young racer, now Jin just had to see it in himself. Jin's technique was smooth and controlling, but every once in a while, Ken would pass Jin on the inside or on the outside of a corner to prove a point, then quickly drop back behind Jin to keep the pressure on his rear bumper. Jin would start to get a little unstable as the seasoned racer would start playing head games with him , but then his racing would become smooth again once Jin had a firm grip on the pole position.

Jin looked back in his rearview as he noticed that the S14 was dropping back behind him a bit as they exited the turn. Jin started to smile a bit as the rotary engine whined in the higher RPM band, but his smile quickly faded as the white Kei Office car quickly caught up to him again as the entered another corner. Ken's voice crackled over the in-helmet communications system as the two cars raced up a short straightaway. "Between my braking point and the point where you enter the corner is where I seem to gain on you. Now think Jin, how do you extend the gap without increasing the wear on your tires?" Jin panicked a bit at the sudden situation change, jerking on the steering wheel aggressively to try and intimidate his opponent. The FC's tires squealed a bit before the cars even entered the corner, but Ken's S14 continued to close the small gap within half a car length or less.

"Jin you've got to get used to the fact that sometimes your opponent is going to catch up with you. Monitor his movements, but concentrate on the course ahead or you'll never win a battle!" Jin heard Ken's motivating words as they powered through another corner, the FC once again pulling away from the white S-14. "That's the ticket Jin, keep that speed up!" Ken said as the two rounded another long right hander. Jin quickly downshifted from third to second as the FC screamed out the corner, the tires sticking firmly to the road as the rotary came up the straightaway. The S14 was a good second behind drifting with a less aggressive action than Jin, but still fast enough to keep pace. Looking into his rearview mirror quickly, Jin frowned a bit as the S14 started to gain on him as the two cars entered another corner. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Jin started to press on the accelerator more firmly as they came out of the corner, the FC once again pulling ahead from the S14. "Every time we exit a corner, I get a slight lead, but he negates it when we enter the corner that's coming up, and Ken's not trying to pass me. I need to find away to keep the speed of the car up rounding the corner, because that's where he seems to want to get me." Jin said to himself as the two cars rushed through a long straight-away that was going to lead into a group of consecutive hairpins. The first corner a sharp right turn, but it could be taken at fairly constant speed if it was taken skillfully enough. Jin thought back to Ken's advice "Find the balance, just like Ken told me to…" Jin said as he mentally cleared his mind, the high revving of the rotary entering his mind, he sunk a bit into his racing seat, his hands melting with the steering wheel, his feet sliding into the pedal feel. Jin and the FC3S were slowly becoming one being, the car and driver understanding each others wishes and acting accordingly.

In the S14, Ken watched Jin's car enter another corner. Quickly shifting from fourth to second, the seasoned pro launched the car into a excellent braking drift coming out of the corner with excessive control, smiling as he put his foot on the gas and closely following the car through the corner. Ken noticed that Jin started to exit this corner slightly wider than before, building up more speed as they came through the corner. "What are you up too Grasshopper?" Ken said with a smile on his face. The two cars raced toward the next upcoming hairpin, this time a left hander. The two engines could be heard whining as Jin's car started to enter the corner with the same controlled drifting action as before. "Hmm, thought he was going to whip something new at me…" Ken started to say as his smiled disappeared as suddenly, Jin's drift started to change. It wasn't the speed that was different, or the angle of the drift, but something else. Something was happening on another level than just speed itself, and it was apparent in what Jin did next. Jin's car launched through the corner, powering through inches from the impact railing as he hugged the line, screaming away from the S14, leading by a good car length gap as the two cars entered the straightaway that followed. "Hmm, looks like I'm going to have to start getting serious." Ken said as he leaned a bit more on the gas, the powerful Nissan complying with his wishes as it accelerated out of the corner after Jin, but not closing the gap. "What's going on…???" Ken said quietly as he started to enter the corner as more of his own racing rhythm, thinking he would be able to catch the young racer. Jin's car entered the corner with more than enough speed and control to negate any small distance gaps that Ken was making up. "Ok, enough fooling around. Time to pass him on the high speed corner on the right…" Ken said as he lost his foot in the floor matting as the S14 screamed ahead, redlining in the straight before Ken shifted up, slowly closing the gap.

The two cars raced toward the corner, Jin looking in his rearview mirror smirking a bit. His foot wasn't lost in the floor matting like Ken; in fact he had kept a small amount of reserve left as the two came down the straightaway. Jin kept his eyes on the road, feeling the vibrations through the steering wheel and slowly using some of that reserve power as they entered the right hander. The two cars had similar horsepower numbers but in the high end of the RPM band, the FC excelled. The S14's tires screeched as they roared through the corner. Ken slowly starting to fall behind as the Jin's car smoothly powered through the corner and continued surging ahead…

Moments later, the two cars were sitting on the side of the pit road, idling softly as the two drivers stood outside and where talking. "Jin, I don't know what changed out there, but suddenly, you became a different driver" Ken said to him as he pulled out a cig and slid it into his mouth. Jin looked at his old mentor with a slightly confused look on his face before he thought back to minutes before. Ken was right, Jin had found another way a driving for himself. Suddenly it had all become clear for him, and as he started to say something, Ken spoke first. "I think that I'm going to come to your battle this Saturday." Ken said as he took in a long drag from his cigarette, the smoke from it filling the air above them. "Jin, all you have to do is stay calm and you can notice the changes, just like you did just a moment ago. If you can do that, I know you can beat that black S13…" Ken faded off saying taking another puff

Jin looked at his mentor with a slightly surprised looked on his face. Ken had never even seen Akira run, so how would he know? Jin suddenly smiled at Ken who was looking at Jin's FC. "This is a powerful machine. It's capable of assisting you with your victory…" the older man said as he walked over to the S-14 and got in the driver's seat, starting up the car. Jin rushed over to his FC and climbed in, thinking about the words that Ken just spoke as the S14 drove toward the exit and started heading away from the raceway. Jin quickly followed behind as the sun started to set over the area. "We still have two days left…" Jin said as the sun hit him a bit in the eyes as the two drove into the distance.

ColeIketani- Thanks for the review that came it. I appreciated it a lot. I WOULD STILL LOVE MORE THOUGH 

Yeah, I know this was a short chapter again and there is probably going to be one more short one after this. (School does come first…like it or not)


	5. A Lover's Spat

Chapter Five: Lover's Spat…

Jin folded his arms as he waited for Rina's SW20 to smoothly drift down a long sweeping corner of Ikaoia's downhill. The screeching of Rina's rear tires echoed into the air as the bright yellow Toyota slid around the corner, heading for the corner that Jin was standing at. Well not at, otherwise he would have been run over by his girlfriend. Jin was standing behind the guardrail, leaning on it as a bench, as many touge racers had before him as he looked at the road waiting for his girlfriend to round the bend. The headlights of the SW20 could be seen reflecting off the trees of the oncoming corner before the car itself rounded the turn. The SW20 in all of its obnoxious yellow glory rounded the corner, drifting smoothly but narrowly as the nose of the car almost pointed the car at the inside of the turn. Rina piloted her car with a controlled, but yet chaotic style that Jin had only seen in the young female touge racer. The roaring of her MR2's engine filled Jin's ears as he looked at the car coming around the corner. Rina exited the corner with a nice exit speed, her taillights fading into the darkness as she headed down another straightaway.

Jin looked down at one of the stopwatches that was around his neck, Rina had passed by Jin about point three five seconds faster than she had the last three times coming down the course tonight. Smiling at the small increase, Jin again looked up as he heard the loud whine of a blow off valve and the roar of another engine heading toward him. Knowing that it must have been Taihosi's S14, Jin looked again up the road as one of his best friends headed toward the same corner. Again, headlights reflected off the trees as the black S14 rounded the corner in a much wider drift than Rina's had been. The rear tires of the Nissan chirped as the car slid around the corner, taking up a bit of both lanes as he headed around the corner heading in the same direction that Rina had been seconds before. Jin tapped the guardrail with his fingers a bit as he closed his eyes, thinking back over the drift he had just seen. Taihosi's drifting had never been as narrow as Rina's or his own, but an advantage of the wide-angle drifts that the black S14 committed to was that it made it harder for opponents to pass the racer as they were heading down the hill.

Minutes later, his cell phone rang as Rina called counting down as her car ran through the finish line at the bottom of the course, minutes later. Jin stopped the first watch and reported to Rina, her time before hanging up. Seconds later, the phone rang again as Taihosi reported the same thing before Jin told him his time and then asked for a pick up as the two racers were to come back up the hill. Alpha Redline had been running Ikaoia nonstop for the past two days preparing for tomorrow's battle. Jin shared his experience with his two friends and they tried to use the information the best they could as they committed their downhill runs. Jin was glad to see the improvement in his friends and in himself, however small it may have been. But was it enough to take on Firestorm Flash tomorrow? Only time would tell…

A flash of headlights interrupted Jin's thinking as Rina's SW20 could be seen slowly driving up the hill. The yellow car slowly came to a stop as the young driver waved her boyfriend over to it. Jin smiled as he hopped over the guardrail, tapping it once for good luck before heading over to the mid-engine car. Rina smiled as Jin, leaning in through the window a bit, gave her a quick kiss on the lips before running in front of the car and getting in through the passenger side. "It was a good time, one of your best." Jin said as the headlights of the S14 of Taihosi could be seen coming up behind them. Rina quickly put the car in gear and headed up to the top of the hill. Jin looked at the road ahead as the two cars leisurely rounded curve after curve. "So Jin, what's the battle plan for tomorrow?" Rina asked him as she drove smoothly around another corner. "Well I assume that only one of us is going to be running tomorrow, but you never know. I guess I'm going to wait to see what Firestone Flash when we meet tomorrow before I decide whose going to run." Jin said as he leaned back in his seat a bit, resting momentarily before they arrived at the top of the mountain. Jin looked at his FC3S that was sitting there, almost looking eager to see its driver as Rina drove up to it, parking next to it.

Rina looked over at Jin who was gazing at his own car. "So are you two going to make one more run tonight?" she asked meaning Jin and his FC. Taihosi's S14 parked on the other side of Jin's car before Jin nodded and looked at Taihosi who hadn't gotten out of his car. "Hey man, don't get out. Let's have a friendly battle down the hill, just to sign off the evening. Sound like fun?" Jin said tapping on the hood of his friend's car who just looked at him with a confused look on his face. It was rare for Jin to just ask for a friendly bout. He was normally so competitive. "Nah man, I think I'm going to call it a night." Taihosi said as a small yawn slipped past his lips. Rina's eyes perked put a bit as Taihosi declined his friend's challenge. "Hey Jin, I'll race you. Sounds like fun!" Rina said as she winked a bit at the two men. Jin and Taihosi looked at each other a bit before Taihosi smiled and ran over to the street yelling. "I've got the countdown!" The three of them laughed because who else was going to do it.

Rina giggled a bit more as she got back into her SW20, slowly backing up before heading to the starting line. Jin leaned against his FC looking at his two friends for a moment, just taking it all in before heading into the cockpit of his own car. Jin slid his key into the ignition and turned it toward the start position, but not yet turning the rotary on, just turning on the power so that the lights flipped up and the gauges lit up. Jin buckled himself into the seat using the four point harnesses and took a deep breath in through his nose, just relaxing as his hand slid over to the key again, turning on the engine. The whine of the rotary filled the air around Jin as the young racer revved the engine twice, his eyes closed as he just listened. The honking of Rina's SW20 brought Jin back to reality as he opened his eyes and put the car into gear heading toward the starting line.

Taihosi smiled a bit as he waved the two cars forward a bit making sure that they were lined up perfectly before the start of the race. "Remember guys, just a friendly battle… 10 seconds to the start…9…8…" Taihosi continued counting down as the two cars revved a bit. Rina quickly looked over her gauges while listening to the countdown, her hands gripping the steering wheel. Jin on the other hand, didn't check for anything. He just listened to the revs of the 13B engine. Everything sounded fine to him for quick battle like this.

"3…2…1…GO!!!" Taihosi said as he lowered his hand. The tires screeched as the two cars rocketed off toward the road, side by side. The golden SW20 keeping pace with the crimson FC3S, the engines roaring and whining as the two racers headed up the straightaway. Spinning in place, Taihosi turned around as the two cars headed up the straight. A slight left was the first corner they were going to encounter and the only one that Taihosi was going to see them battle on. Rina took a slight lead as the two cars headed around the corner, gripping smoothly as the downhill battle began. Behind the wheel of the SW20, Rina was glad to see that she had taken the small lead over Jin. The FC driver was known for his aggressive pursuing however, so she knew that this lead wouldn't be easy to hold.

Jin looked at the tail end of the SW20 in front of him. The roaring of the MR2's engine almost entering Jin's cockpit as he watched his girlfriend head down the hill. The MR2 had a better grip on the road because of the mid-engine design which made it easier for Rina to grip the corner as they had rounded it, so Jin wasn't surprised that she jumped ahead of him. Shifting from third to fourth, the young racer pursued her quickly, accelerating quickly as the next corner started to come up on them. The two drivers quickly started braking and downshifting rounding the next right handed corner, the road starting to slope downward as the two cars picked up speed around the corner. Jin's and Rina's techniques were fairly similar as the two cars started drifting almost in tandem. Both either drifted with very high speed, yet narrow lines or gripped corners wide when they were attempting to overtake another car The screeching of their tires once again filling the air as Rina's SW20 increased the gap from Jin just a small tad, the superior cornering of the midship besting Jin's FC.

Rina smiled quickly glancing her rearview mirror looking at Jin's FC3S falling back slowly as they exited the corner. The MR2 and FC headed down a long straight, leading into a tunnel, light wafting over the two cars. "Oh come on babe, I know you can drive faster than that…" Rina said quietly to herself as she looked ahead again, her feet dancing over the pedals as the tunneled road started to curve. The SW20 gracefully slid around the corner, smoke from her tires billowed up into the air fogging Jin's vision some as he leaned on the accelerator.

Jin's FC whined loudly, the sound of the engine filling the tunnel along with the SW20's. Lights from the tunnel's overhead continued to rush over the cars as Jin's hand caressed the shifter; bringing the car quickly from fourth to third, the engine roaring in response to its driver's request. The FC slowly started to gain on the SW20 as the two cars exited the corner; the only lights brightening the course then were the headlights and taillights from the two touge warriors. The course would start to contort and twist, continuing with low-gear corners as the two forged ahead. Screeching tires and the flashing of brake lights were the only signs of the duel that was taking place on the downhill of Mount Ikaoia

Several corners later, Rina still held her slight lead over Jin as they entered the mid-point of the course. The yellow MR2 sharply cornered into a narrow hairpin, quickly taking the inside line as Jin's FC cornered wide, trying to overtake in a high speed pass on the outside line. The shorter distance of the inner line gave Rina enough space to keep Jin at bay, but the FC3S was slowly closing the gap. Rina bit her lip a small bit as she quickly tapped her left foot on the brake to negate some of the understeer she was experiencing as her MR2 rounded another narrow left hand corner. The female racer looking in her rear view in Jin's headlights filled the mirror. Quickly jerking the wheel a small bit, Rina shook the rear end out of the SW20, starting a drift very early as the two cars crossed over a small bridge which dipped down a bit as it twisted into another hairpin corner. Rina drew it a sharp breath as the corner came up on her rather quickly, sliding the MR2 within inches of pitching the mid engine car off the road. Her tires screeched loudly as they kicked up dust and dirt that had been lying on the side of the road by the forested area. Rina quickly held onto the wheel as the dust disrupted traction in her tires causing the car to act irregularly. Jin's eyes widened as he noticed the odd movements that the SW20 was making as its tires ran into the dirt a bit. Quickly applying the brakes for a millisecond, Jin decelerated enough to allow him not to run to the yellow Toyota. "Her tires keep running into the dirt, slowing her down. If I'm going to pass her, it should be now before she slows down too much and I can't avoid a collision" Jin said to himself quickly reacting. Shifting the wheel into point toward to inside of the corner, Jin started to turn in, slowly passing Rina as they exited the corner, her little relationship with the dirt causing her to exit the corner wider than she had planned giving Jin a nice opening to overtake her. The 13B rotary engine whined louder as the cars approached redline. Inches apart, the FC started to pull away from the MR2 accelerating as the two rushed down the hill. As much as Rina tried she couldn't seem to decrease the gap between Jin and his FC and her MR2. As the two rushed over another bridge, Jin's FC was ahead by at least a car length as both racers applied their brakes, their tires screaming around another corner as the lights of the car brightened the road which seconds later faded into darkness.

Moments later

Jin and Rina leaned up against their cars, looking at each other panting a bit as they talked back over the battle that had just transpired. Jin had beaten Rina by about a second and a half, but the battle had been a struggle for them both. Jin smiled over at Rina as he walked over to her SW20, its rear end lightly coated in dirt. Putting his arm around her waist, Jin looked into Rina's eyes as she smiled back at him. The two were silent for minutes as they regained their breath. The headlights from Taihosi's S14 coming down the hill broke their lock on each other as Taihosi got out and looked at the two racers. "So?" Taihosi asked as Rina pointed at Jin, who nodded at Taihosi. "I'm tired. Just completely spent…" Jin said to his teammates. "I think we should take tomorrow morning off. Not doing any racing work until it's time to go to the battle meeting. It should do us some good to relax a bit…" Rina said to the two young men who nodded in agreement. The three of them walked to their cars and the trio headed away from Ikaoia and back into the city.

ColeIketani: Yeah well, I figured I would try and work on writing a battle before the serious showdown took place. Tell me what you think 


	6. Firey Battles Erupt SW20 vs DC2!

Chapter Six: Fiery battles erupt…Battle One…

ColeIketani: Ooo! It's here! The first battle….ooo! Are you as excited as I am? Let's go!

The time was about 10:30 when Jin and the rest of Alpha Redline arrived at the bottom of Mount Ikaoia. The galleries of fellow racers and other fans of either Alpha Redline or Firestorm Flash were already filling up. Although Alpha Redline was a "new" team to the underground Japanese Touge circuit, they had made a name for themselves on the battles on other opponents' home territories. This was the first time that a team had challenged AR on their own home turf, so word was spreading like wildfire throughout the underground circuit. As Jin had driven up to the top, he had looked out at some of the cars parked along the side of the road, some of the team decals he noticed right away, such as team Lightstone from Akirana or Team Lazy-Drivers from Tokyo. Drivers from all around sat on guardrails or in the small lots next to the road, looking at the young team of drivers as they ascended the mountain. Jin noticed cars that varied from GC8 to the occasional R33 GTRs. This was quite the galley of racers, but that was to be expected with the types of teams that were going to be battling tonight.

Firestorm Flash wasn't a pushover team either so word about this battle between the two teams pulled in names from all over. Jin's heart started to beat a little faster, but his eyes almost burst from his head however when he drove by and saw a very familiar yellow Mazda FD3S next to a strikingly familiar white FC3S, almost like Jin's red. The two cars weren't personally familiar to him, but any racer who was anyone knew about them once they saw the banner that graced the rides from the team of Mount Akagi. "The Redsuns are here…" Jin said as he swallowed a huge lump in his throat and continued heading up the mountain. They would have quite the audience tonight.

The trio of racers known as Alpha Redline arrived at the top of the mountain moments later. Jin could see that the Firestorm Flash team had already arrived, waiting for them. Kira Fujiwaka's DC2 Integra could be seen in front of the large pack of cars. The white front engine/front wheel drive rocket was sitting in the road adorned with a new carbon fiber bonnet and new golden BBS rims. From the way the cars were set up Jin guessed that team Firestorm Flash wanted her to run the downhill first. Behind the DC2 was the ominous black of Akira's S13. Jin's mind raced back to the battle just days before and was determined not to have a repeat of the situation. Suddenly he was brought back to reality and pulled his car into the parking lot across from where the other racers had gathered. Behind him, Rina and Taihosi parked along side him with their respective cars. Jin sat in the seat of his FC3S just absorbing all the atmosphere of the pre-battle meeting.

Running his hands gently over the steering wheel, Jin said a small prayer to himself as he looked as his friends were getting out of their cars, looking at Jin for some sign of action. Jin smiled and flashed each of them a charming smile, although on the inside part of him wanted to run away…oh well, too late for that. Jin cut off the engine of his Mazda and opened the door, getting out noticing that a majority of the people at the top of the mountain had been staring at them, waiting for the two teams to approach one another.

"Well at least we can say we made a good entrance." Taihosi said jokingly. Rina couldn't help but let out a small smile and Jin just nodded as he put his hands in his jean pockets starting to head over to the cars of Firestorm Flash. Jin's shoes quietly stepped on some leaves that were on the ground, making small popping noises as he walked over toward the main road. The group of people standing there were murmuring and talking amongst each other. Jin picked up some comments about Alpha Redline as a whole or about of one of the drivers. Some of the people were making bets on the outcome of the battle and some were just commenting on the physical looks of the drivers, about Rina most of all. Jin smiled a bit as he looked over toward Akira's S13, seeing the seasoned driver leaning against his car, smoking a cigarette looking at the ground as if he was going to start playing with his shoelaces. The look on Akira's face was deep in thought, but at the same time playful in a way.

Jin was intercepted by Kira who aggressively stepped in front of him, causing the young racer to take a small step back in surprise. "So you all decided to show up. I guess you beat the odds then." Kira said loudly and boldly as if to let the entire crowd know what she was saying. A small murmur rose from the crowd as if they were waiting for Jin or another one of Alpha Redline to make some boasting comeback. Taihosi was about to open his mouth in retaliation before Jin cut him off. "So how were you looking to run this battle?" Jin asked to Akira, speaking around Kira who lightly growled at Jin before speaking again.

"We're going to do a best of three matches, since there are only three members on your team and so many on ours. This means…" Rina interrupted her speaking for the first time that night. "We know what it means…" she said quietly, her eyes meeting with Rina's, a first for the two female racers, as if they were sizing each other up for battle. Jin nodded as well, this means that which ever team took two out of the three matches would be claimed the victory. "You don't have to speak to us like we're kids." Rina continued to say as she spoke a little louder to Kira.

The older racer of the DC2 walked over to the SW20 driver and stood inches from her, again, the two ladies sizing each other up. A comment was made about how hot this looked by one of the people in the crowd, but Jin ignored it. "Well, then little lady, let's get started. You and me on the first run…how about it?" Kira said to Rina who had stepped in front of Jin still glaring at her a bit. Jin was taken a back a bit by how aggressive his girlfriend as being right now, but at the same time it was very attracting for him. "Let's go…" Rina said as she looked at Jin, her eyes turning suddenly from glaring hard to compassionately soft. Jin felt a small lump in his throat as he looked back at her, quickly glancing at Taihosi to make sure that all was ready for the first race. His friend nodded at him before running toward one of the members of Firestorm Flash, asking for a walkie-talkie to check all the checkpoints before the battle begain.

Jin and Rina started to head back to the smaller lot where the three cars were parked. Rina's yellow SW20 was sitting to the left of Jin's FC. The two racers walked over to the midship in silence slowly thinking about the events that had just transpired. As the two approached the nose of the SW20, Rina stopped and looked at her car, gazing at it. A lot of tuning and time had gone into this car and Rina was proud of it, Jin could tell that every time that she looked at it. The two stood there for a few moments, before Rina looked at Jin and quietly spoke. "Jin, I'm a bit nervous…" she started to say. "I'm afraid I might let the team down if I lose this one…" she continued saying as Jin put one arm around her waist, her form pressing into his a bit as he continued to look at her Toyota and then at her, noticing those soft eyes still glazing at him. Jin smiled at her, rubbing her side gently as he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Come on Rina, you know you're a fine racer. The battle that we had brought that to the surface. You know that we started Alpha Redline to have fun with touge racing, so I'm not demanding anything from you. I just want you to go out there and do you're best. You know I'm with you in spirit…" Jin said letting those words sink in as Rina stared to smile at him. "Hey win or lose, we're still Alpha Redline, and I still love you…" Jin said interrupted by a kiss from Rina, a deep one… The two stood in an embrace for a moment before Jin parted the kiss and looked over at the starting line. "Alright, get in your car. We've got a battle to win." Jin said jokingly as he gave her a small pat on the butt, Rina squealing a bit before laughing getting into her car, the engine of the MR2 gently idling as the car started and her headlights flipped up. Rina put the car in gear and slowly headed for the starting line. Jin slowly walked next to the SW20, his hand on the roof of the car as if he was guiding it over to the starting gate.

Kira was standing next to her DC2, leaning against it as Rina's SW20 approached. Jin, who was still walking next to Rina's car, glanced over at Akira, who still hadn't moved from his position since the two teams had arrived. "He sure is a creepy guy…" Taihosi said to Jin as his friend nodded back at him. "We're all ready to go Jin." Taihosi handed Jin the walkie-talkie and leaned up against the guardrail. Jin started to walk in front of both cars, nodding at Rina and then Kira who had now gotten in her Integra. Both cars started revving gently, the differences in their powerhouses sounding in the night air. Jin raised his arm as his fist opened up showing all five fingers. "Drivers Ready!" Jin shouted, as the two cars revved loudly. The people in the galleries started cheering a bit as he started the countdown. "5…4….3….2….1…GO!" Jin shouted as he lowered his hand and the two cars shot past him, causing enough wind to blow in his face. Jin turned around to see the two cars racing down the straight away that lead to the first corner. Rina's SW20 had gained a small lead over Rina, her drivetrain having a better traction advantage in her launch. Jin didn't know Kira's Integra's horsepower numbers or anything like that or he couldn't tell if she had gone all out on her launch or at let Rina gain a small advantage just so she could follow her. Rina's MR2 however had about two hundred horsepower pushing down at the wheels of the midship and Rina had the skills, so he knew this was would be a good race.

In the yellow midship, Rina aggressively stomped down on the accelerator, the SW20 almost bucking under her command. The rear tires screeched as the power placed upon them was at first too great for them to effectively grab the road, but moments later they gripped, launching the car down the road like a bullet from a gun. She didn't pay much attention to the people cheering her on, as she placed one hand gently on the shifter, as she started the intricate dance of shifting smoothly from first into second, which then moved into third gear. The whining of her motor pulsing through her body as she glanced back at the white Integra that was behind her, not far enough for her liking, still close enough to be a threat. Putting her full attention back on the road, she aggressively drifted the nimble Toyota through the first corner, her tires howling as the yellow rocket came through the corner, Kira right on her ass. Many people that were standing at the first corner were at first speechless from the speed of the two racers, right from the start, but seconds later they were cheering and commenting on the duel that they just saw.

Jin walked over to Taihosi who was chatting with some of the racers in the galleries. The howling tires from Rina's and Kira's cars could be heard as the two cars rounded the corners. "So does Rina really have a chance?" one of the guys asked the two other drivers of Alpha Redline. "I know you guys are somewhat good, but word is that this Kira girl is fast all over the area…". Jin and Taihosi looked at each other. They hadn't really discussed it. Objectively, Rina's MR2 had major advantages over the DC2, just solely because of its weight distribution setup and drive train, both, which are superior to the FF DC2, but if Kira was as good as word said, she would know how to turn her disadvantages into her strengths. Jin's walkie-talkie sounded and he picked it up hearing that Rina was still leading into the first row of hairpin corners. A small smile went over Jin's face as he heard the news. Things were looking good for her, at least for right now. Jin looked up from the walkie-talkie as Taihosi started walking over to his S-14, popping the hood and looking into the engine bay. It looked like he was making a last minute check incase he had to run tonight. Probably a good idea, but Jin was too busy focusing on Rina's battle. Resting against a small section of guardrail, he chatted with some of the racers next to him about their individual teams, cars, and tuning, just anything to pass the time between checkpoints. Jin's walkie talkie sounded again reporting that Rina and Kira was blazing down the mountain, Rina still had a slight lead, but Kira was applying pressure from behind as the two would exit corners. Rina would pull away in the straights, but Kira would quickly gain on her whenever they would enter a corner.

"What am I doing wrong, she's still on my ass!" Rina slightly squealed to herself as she brought her car through another corner, the Integra's headlights slightly falling behind as they had many corners before. Placing her foot more deeply into the floor matting as she gave the car more throttle in the upcoming straightaway, she tried her damnness to gained some distance before the braking duel of the next corner which, if the history of this battle would serve right, she would lose and Kira would gain distance yet again. The people standing in the galleries on the corners that the two racers were approaching where in awe of the speed the two drivers rushed into the corner with, the crimson taillights of both machines flashed in defiance of one another, the lighter DC2 sliding in more to gain on the SW20. At the point that the cars had stopped braking, Kira had gain a good thirty feet on her opponent just by her superior brake control in the corners. Rina gripped the steering wheel more tightly after more roughly shifting up into third gear. She was going to win this battle, for Jin, if for anyone else, for Jin. If she didn't, Rina didn't know what she was going to do!

The gallery was full of chatter as the reports would come back on the battle between Rina and Kira. For most of the battle Rina had kept a commanding lead over the Firestone Flash driver, but they were coming to some of the more difficult turns on the course were coming up. Jin's walkie talkie chattered again. "Rina's still got the lead going into this next turn, but Kira's Integra is breathing down her neck now. I'm not sure if she can…OH WOAH!" The scream over the radio almost made Jin's heart stop. Had something happened? Had there been an accident?

Rina screamed as the rear end of her SW20 started to break away from the direction of the corner, not under her own will. Her rear tires had slid on the sand that had been covering the road on the inside of the corner. Kira's headlights were still glaring down on her as her midship lost control. Rina's hands and feet frantically worked the throttle and brake, trying to recover, the narrow guardrails of this part of the course coming closer…

"Report back! What happened!" Jin shouted into the walkie talkie, gravely waiting for an answer. What felt like ten lifetimes passing by, the two-way device squawked again. "I don't believe it!… Rina spun out. She's alright though, but she barely missed the guardrail. She brought it back again and started driving, but Rina passed her in the spin and I don't think she'll be able to catch up!" Jin let out a huge sigh of relief, at least she wasn't hurt. That was the important thing, but it was unfortunate that she spun out like that. It had happened last time during the practice battle between himself and Rina, but he was hoping it was something she could have taken into account. It was a trait that made midships so temperamental. The reports kept coming in till the end of the race. Kira had won, by a good seven seconds because of Rina's mishap. So the first bout went to the Firestorm team. A small cheer went up from the rival team as Jin kicked the dirt a little bit as he relayed the news back to Taihosi. The young touge racer gently closed the hood on his black S14, showing a more relaxed posture than Jin would have expected. Looking over at his friend, Taihosi just smirked and said. "Don't worry man; we'll get the next one. In all fairness I should run it. I doubt that they'll have Akira run with me. Let's just wait for Rina to get back up here before we continue…" Taihosi said as two drivers waited for their friend to arrive back up the mountain.

Moments later, two sets of headlights arrived back up to the top of the mountain. Kira's white Integra was first followed shortly by Rina's SW20. Kira stuck her arm out the window fisting the crowd in victory as a small cheer erupted from the galleries. Rina slowly drove her car back over to the lot where Jin and Taihosi's cars were parking. She cut the engine and just sat in her car looking straight-ahead for what seemed like eternity before Jin came over and slowly opened her door. He saw that the young woman had tears running down her face as she leaned back in her chair. Trying to console her Jin said, "Rina, it's fine." The young woman's face almost whipped over at Jin, her voice cracking in almost anger, not in sadness. "It's not alright Jin! I was supposed to win!" Rina said slamming her hands down on the steering column. "I let the team down," she said looking back ahead, "I let you down…" she said as she slightly lowered her head.

Jin put one of his hands on top of hers and another on her leg, crouching down to get close to her. "No Rina. You could never let me down. Not if we lost every race from here to Tokyo, not if we never even made it to Tokyo. You'd never let me down." he said gently rubbing her leg as she looked up at him. He flashed her smile as he unbuckled her harnesses. "Come on, let's go. We've still got another chance, and you know that Taihosi would want us to cheer him on." Jin said as he helped her out of the car, giving her two gentle kisses on her cheeks.

The two racers walked over to the black Nissan of Taihosi. He was already in the cockpit and heading his car to the starting line. As Rina and Jin followed behind, they saw that a red Subaru Impreza WRX, a GC8 was lining up next to him. Jin held his breath hoping that his friend had what it took to win this one for the team. He was guessing that the driver behind the wheel of the Impreza wasn't as skilled as Rina's opponent, but he couldn't be one hundred percent sure. Plus the power and advantage of the Subaru AWD system might be too great of a challenge for his FR layout.

Kira walked up between the two cars and started the countdown. When she hit "Go!", the two cars rocketed away from the group, the Impreza gaining the quick lead over the S14. Jin held Rina's hand tightly as the two cars rounded the first corner….

ColeIketani: Sorry for the long time between updates, but here is another chapter. All the reviews from what seems to be my sole reviewer have been great! THANKS!


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